When using an electronic device such as a tablet personal computer (also referred to herein simply as a “tablet”, a user is normally required to hold the tablet in his or her hands which can pose problems if the user is engaging in another contemporaneous activity, such as playing a musical instrument, where his or her hands are required or if the user does not wish to hold the tablet the entire time that he or she is working on the tablet. The user may then be required to place the tablet on a table, countertop, or another location which may not be suitable for the activity for which he or she is using the tablet. Thus, there is a need in the art for a hands-free holder or stand for an electronic device such as a tablet that includes rapid and easy engagement and removal.
Furthermore, what might be desired in the art is a hands-free stand/holder for electronic devices such as tablets that allow for full 360-degree rotation of the electronic devices for not only landscape and portrait viewing but also for a wide range of swivel and tilt in all directions (e.g., positioning at least about 3-axes such as yaw, pitch, and roll) to a preferred inclination and orientation.
Most modern electronic devices now alter their displayed image orientation by the rapid change from physical landscape to portrait orientation simply by rotating the electronic device 90 degrees to the new preferred orientation. These newer electronic devices sense their attitude using an internal sensor such as an accelerometer. These accelerometers can have as many as 3-axes and can be electronically monitored by the computer and converted to data for use with their software. The software can then determine finger gestures or rotational accelerations which the user creates to change the orientation of the image on the electronic device. For example, the display can quickly change from portrait to landscape left with a 90-degree counterclockwise rotation of the device.
Because of this rapid and frequent need to change the orientation from landscape to portrait, or, vice versa, it might also be desirable, in addition to providing a wide-range of swivel and tilt in all directions (e.g., positioning at least about 3-axes such as yaw, pitch, and roll), to allow ease and speed of motion in only the roll axis without disturbing already set preferred yaw and pitch axes.